NUI Maynooth Summer School 'Making the Built Environment Work'

This event commenced on June 27th until July 2nd 2011 at NUI Maynooth. It is recognised by the RIAI (35 CPD credits) and by the ISSP (5 ECTS)

The aim of the Summer School is to facilitate learning across the following disciplines, architects, urban designers, planners and social scientists.

This acquired an inter-disciplinary approach to some of the current challenges within the 'broken environment'. It was an experiment to collaborate in an Interdisplinary way through Workshops and Fieldtrips.

Workshops facilitated this 'thinking outside the box' approach in the form of a new template, from reading the environment, one group analysed the town by observing dog walkers in Maynooth town.
One of the speakers acknowledged, that there is more cross-disciplinary working. I would recommend an interdisciplinary group working in practice perhaps even meeting the residents.

I was part of the Learning Landscape group which involved working with architects, social scientists, and planners in a unique way to read and present the landscape to our audience. I am a recent graduate and was open-minded to reading the Landscape. Some professionals couldn't decide whether 'their hats should be on or off' and in the end it was concluded best practice to 'take their hats off'.

Maynooth Summer School challenged us to think about 'localism' in a new way, as professionals we have a duty to know ourselves. Only then can we understand what other people need in relation to infrastructure provision.

The new template our group pushed home was the idea of subversive practice in the planning profession.
This follows the inate idea that the  'grass is always greener on the other side'.

Green Flag launch on the 23rd of June to Rahara National School, County Roscommon

Rahara National School launched their fourth Green Flag since taking the initative in 2008

The Green Flag towers over the glorious green village, as the air consumes fresh cuttings of luscious grass

It is a remarkable achievement to be finishing the school year with such a positive foot forward

This is their fourth Green Flag since being involved with An Taisces programme.

The schools commitment, work-ethic and great care for the environment encouraged mentors and students to achieve their first ever Green Schools flag for Sustainable Travel. 

Since the school is in a rural setting and safety reasons prevented students from travelling in a sustainable fashion to school, the students were innnovative in their thinking and took safety lessons from experienced Garda Siochana members.

They also looked at carbon emissions and realised their fruit salad travel 72,00km alone to reach their tables.

The evening was concluded by speeches and a loud applause for all the hard-working children and their mentors involved in achieving again another Green Flag for Rahara community.

May the Greenery continue.........

15 th of June 2011: The Perspectives on Nama and the Planning System Forum

I was a volunteer during this event held in the Dublin Institute of Technology. I have Graduated in Spatial Planning in DIT.

I have expressed just some of the intriguing debates and discussions expressed during this Forum.

• Over-reliance on Taxation
• Unfinished commercial development (no census)
• Analyse the Planning and Development system why did x not work?
• Lack of regulation and control
• Debate: 'have regard'     Material contravention of Development Plans
• No corporate strategy and in what way can it relate to the protection of heritage
• No broad Planning strategy
• Recommendation: Need a strategic development corporation
• Realise national , regional and local goals
• Complete places we left during the boom times
• All strategic/place-making transferred to this entity
• Make sure public sector won't cause this crises
• Prioritisation build those houses in the most need
• Land based solution however, land has no value 'property bubble'
• Get strategies right and then find the land
• Plan for prosperity and then only then provide accomodation requirements
• Irish culture obsessed with housing and settlement instead of place based strategies.

These were just some of the views and debates discussed by the speakers who gave a multi-dimensional array of perspectives on the issue of NAMA.

The Forum was well attended and was followed by some light refreshments sponsored by CAAS in DIT.

An enjoyable evening was had by all. I look forward to this forum which will continue to progress the NAMA debate in the near future.

A President's Blog by PJ Rudden: NAMA and the Planning System

A President's Blog by PJ Rudden: NAMA and the Planning System: "Last night there was a most interesting discussion at the DIT Spatial Planning Graduate Network Annual Forum 2011 to which I was invited. Th..."

10th of June: Final LEAD Workshop

Today was the final Pilot Workshop of the LEAD module in Cathal Brugha. The day began with an ice breaker session with Brian Gormley. This exercise observed whether people could multi-task and it was an opportunity for last minute questions about the final LEAD report due on the following Friday the 20th of June.

Bob talked us through how students can evidence their events or volunteering activities in the form of a Blog. Those students who engaged and reflected on their activities in their blog can now draw their skills, events and evidence of those experiences from the blog and this makes the completion of the report less daunting. The majority of students found blogging did not work for them. Word press and Twitter were suggested because asking questions found that some people reflect differently on their experiences.

Reflecting on personal achievements in writting was explained and discussed by taking an event and linking it to a chosen skill. Communicationa and Problem Solving were discussed with the thread being Social media, team work and promotion. The report must focus on I in the first person and an explanation about other peoples involvement maybe how they felt during the task. I am learning what I can do differently next time. It is fundamental to the success of the planning society to solve issues that arise and to find out what does or does not work for the society. I think it is essential to have the time to think back on past events and to move on and to learn from those experiences. This will provide the student with knowledge which can be adapted to their future Careers.

Mind maps were created and provided a clearer insight into the reflective process. Reflection is evidenced in the personal development plan or journey I have begun and continue to pursue because of the LEAD module. I learnt I can handle stressful situations, I am a quick thinker and I have a positive attitude to challenges. Feedback on this pilot module was gathered because DIT are applying for this module to be accredited for this coming September.

The Mentors were helpful and greatly assisted the students answering many questions and giving us all positive guidance to complete our 2,000 word report and evidence based assignment for the LEAD module. This is due on the 20th of June and the written element is more important than the evidence. It is an academic exercise which requires considerable reading and study which is demonstrated in the draft schedule for 2012. I wish the Mentors every success in the future, best of luck to all the participating students and those upcoming students who succeed in taking this worthwhile LEAD module. There are numerous possibilities whether you have developed a new career path, decided to apply for a Masters, changed degree courses or can apply for a job. The list is endless....

                            'Reflection on yourself, you have just tilted the lid'.

2nd of June 2011

LEAD

 

Communication

 

The skill of communication is developing and continues to be broadened along with advancing my skills in technology.  

 

I have set up a Animoto video available on the link below (http://www.animoto.ie/).

 

http://animoto.com/play/urKSRKX8iSjATu8t...

Planning Society, Socs Awards, Erasmus, Amsterdam

31st of May E-Portfolio in DIT, Bolton Street.

This is an introductory lesson on how to upload student course work online in a portfolio format.

This can facilitate students in uploading their Course work online for potential employers or Master Courses or just a general safety net in case the reliable USB or Computer may crash.

This is the link which can aid those students who were unable to attend the Tutorial: 

http://ditportfolios.learnonline.ie/ 

Username
Password    (Note this is the same as when you first log onto the Computer system in DIT).


It is a very easy system to use and there were no major mishaps

I found groups can be formed and I searched for the 'LEAD' group but this has not been created yet.

I would recommend we create a LEAD group when all our Portfolios have been completed on the 10th of June.

This is a great system for networking and observing what other Societies have achieved during their last year.

The tutorial lasted an hour and I feel I have a thorough understanding of E-Portfolios.

Thanks to Kevin O' Rourke-Tutor, Dave O' Connor and Chris Reid for organising this tutorial on E-Portfolios.

I would recommend this system to be used from first year onwards in all courses in DIT.

25th of May Professional Planning Interface UCD

This is a collaborative approach undertaken by the School of Planning at UCD. It involves partnership between the professional planning community which can facilitate research into policy formation and planning practice. The Irish Planning Institute and the Royal Town Planning Institute are involved in the series of Professional Planning Interface of the UCD Seminars.

The day began with light refreshments and meeting professionals, lecturers, students and researchers all over Ireland. There was considerable thought and preparation put into this enjoyable Conference by Berna Grist and her team.

The talks were wide and diverse catering to a broad range of environmental and planning issues.

Mark Scott: spoke on sustainable rural housing

Marcus Collier: Peatland use and after use in Ireland

Enda Murphy: Environmental Noise and the City

Eoin O' Neill: Planning and Flood Risk

I found all the talks to broader my awareness and knowledge on the importance of research in the formulation of spatial and environmental management policies. The concluding talk on 'Planning and Flood Risk' is of particular relevance to my Thesis topic ''What are the opportunities and barriers in the implementation of the European Floods Directive- A Case study of Athlone in County Westmeath''.

It was an enjoyable event and a great networking opportunity and I made considerable effort to have my last ever assignment completed before I attended this Conference. I was delighted I went it was a great opportunity to gain three hours of continuing professional practice (CPD). I think it is very important to keep my skills updated and to express innovative ideas and expertise with other researchers and professionals in similiar practice.
I am already looking forward to next years line up of speakers and to another successful event!

18th May 2011: IRISH YOUNG PLANNERS NETWORK

We had our second meeting of the Irish Young Planners Network in DIT, Bolton Street, Dublin.
It has been a busy week with Dissertation deadlines submitted last Friday. Many students have Exams so the turn out was quite low averaging twelve people. In summary the following points were discussed:

• Must be a member of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI) before being eligible for the (IYP) Committee.
• Cannot be an (IPI) member just by being on the (IYP) networks emailing list. 
• The (IYP) has 30 members on the Committee
• 4 people on the Committee and elections will re-open in September.
• An (AGM) will be held in September to formally adopt the (IYP) network.
• Facebook have steady growth with 206 members and Linkedn is slow with 50 members.
• The Employability Seminar will run in early November.
• Encourage the submission of articles to the (IPI). 
• Education: Involvement in the community employment schemes, liasise with the Greater Dublin area (GDA) branch, attend courses for example www.skillnet.ie to serve as refresher courses for young graduates and planners.  

The meeting concluded with some more enthusiastic members joining the (IYP) Network.

It was nice to see a few new faces!

DIT Society Awards 2011

Best Event - eDIT Festival

In addition to the Society Awards, eleven final year students were presented with ‘Outstanding Contribution Awards’ for their service to DIT Societies and students while they have been in DIT.   A very special “Outstanding Contribution” award was also presented to DIT graduate Conor Mulhern to make 10 years service to the Societies of DIT.
Society Awards:

• Best Photo - DIT Circus & Juggling Society
• Best Poster - Neil Murphy EDIT Festival
• Online Presence - DIT Sign Society
• Best Web-site - DIT Circus & Juggling Society
• Best Course Related - DIT Events Society
• Best New Society - DIT Samba Society
• Best Southside - DIT Astronomy Society
• Best Northside - DIT Poker Society
• Most Improved Northside - DIT Engineer Society
• Most Improved Southside - DIT Nutrition Society
• Most Improved Overall - DIT Drama Society
• Best Fresher - Ruth Murray DIT Event Society
• Best Individual - Colin Campbell DIT Drama Society
• Best Charity Event by a Small Society - Bra Walk DIT Camping Society
• Best Charity Event by a Big Society – DIT Fashion Show
• Civic Contribution - DIT Sign Society
• Best Event - EDIT Festival
• Best Society - DIT Sign Society

Best individual - Colin Campbell

Many of the recipients of DIT awards will now go on to represent DIT at a national level at BICS on Thursday 21st April in the Galway Bay Hotel, where they will come up against the cream of the crop from colleges all over Ireland. We wish them the best of luck!

Best society - DIT Sign Soc

The annual DIT Societies Awards ceremony and dinner was held at the Burlington Hotel on Tuesday 12th April. Organised by the Societies Office, and with Professor Brian Norton as guest of honour, the event was a celebration of the many students who participated in the activities of some 80 societies throughout the year, contributing in a very significant way to campus life in DIT.

DIT Societies Anita Conway, Teri O'Boyle, James Costello with Professor Norton

The DIT Societies Office would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the students, alumni and staff involved with making this year one of the best years for societies in DIT, and in particular to thank Professor Brian Norton for his support.

Keep up the good work and we look forward to an even better 2011-2012.

Individual ‘Outstanding Contribution’ Awards presented to final year students:

• Siobhan Abrook
• Thomas Geoghegan
• Darragh Mac Ardle
• Neil Murphy
• Rachel Lenny
• Sarah Houlihan
• Blathnaid Ni Nuallain
• Anna O Sullivan
• Burschi Wojnar
• Michael Monaghan
• Conor Gilleran

(www.dit.ie/2011)

Societies Awards 12/04/2011 Mental Planners SOC

                                                       (L-R Áine Geraghty and Monika Bannon)

                                          (L-R Áine Geraghty, Colin Broderick and Aoife Doyle)

On Tuesday we had the Societies Awards in the Burlington Hotel and I met many familiar faces some of whom are involved in the LEAD module.
The Mental Planning Soc were thrilled to be in so many of the nomination categories
Some of which were
                               
                                1) Best Poster
                                2) Best Northside Soc
                                3) Most improved

The night had a Superhero theme and the Mental Planners Soc were named Green Lantern!
I believe this is due to our involvement in Green Week ..which goes to show Planners do take environmental considerations into account!

Well done to all those who won Awards the atmosphere was electric ! We had dinner followed by Music and a great night was had by all the 'Mental Planners! We all felt like winners and it was one of the best nights of the year. It was great to get glammed up and mingle with all our friends and colleagues we have done business with over the last two years. The end of an era is drawing to a close...........

I would like to thank the Mental Planners Committee members Colin Broderick, Aoife Doyle and Eoin Stapleton who always make the best out of a bad situation.

They made the job more like an adventure and I have many memories from our days volunteering in SOCS ! ! 

The logo 'GET INVOLVED' is the best piece of advise I will treasure and will bring with me along the way towards my future goals.

Thanks and I hope to post some more Photos soon.

In the meantime safe home

Green Week 5th April 2011 Car-Sharing (www.dit.ie/news/archive2011)

As part of DIT Green Week, Dr Mike Murphy, Dean of Engineering and Built Environment, launched a Car-Sharing Website for DIT Staff and Students – www.carsharing.ie/DIT. This is an initiative of the DIT Smarter Travel Working Group and the National Transport Authority. The website can be found on www.carsharing.ie/DIT and can be used to match up DIT staff and students who travel in the same direction each day or week.

Just log on to the site using your DIT email address (for students, please ensure you use the @student.dit.ie e-mail address). It’s completely free to use. You can also use the site to look for public lifts, if there’s nobody from DIT going in your direction.
According to the 2009 DIT Travel Survey, 15% of the DIT population occasionally car-share, with 6% of these respondents travelling to the same destination as their driver (i.e. one of the DIT campuses). We hope this initiative will increase car-sharing, as 46% of respondents said they would be interested in a DIT car-sharing scheme.

The Smarter Travel Working Group was formed in 2009 to support staff and students in DIT who are choosing sustainable transport methods to commute to college. All staff and students are welcome to get involved in the group. For more information, please contact Brian.Gormley@dit.ie or contact us via our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/DIT-Smarter-Travel/111571125534633

LEAD Workshop 2 Friday 8th of April 2011

This work in progress session took place in the Boardroom in Cathal Brugha Street at 9.30 am. The aim of the workshop is to introduce students firstly in:
How to develop their reflective practice and writing skills?
The group discussed their recent achievements since the last meeting. I was involved with the running of 'Green week' in DIT and this further expanded my communication, problem-solving, and my planning and organisation skills. Green Week started on the 4th of April until the 8th of April and involved Speakers, films, talks and demonstrations emphasising the theme of sustainability hence energy efficiency.

On reflection of Green Week there was a problem with showing the film in the main arena in Bolton Street college and I devised the solution to show the film outside because weather permitted. This was during the 'Go-Car' presentation and I had already organised a car to be displayed outside. Showing the film outside meant students were more engaged and involved as they eaves dropped in on the demo being displayed via laptop. This problem turned out to be a success during lunch-time because students were more likely to hover around the car. There was serious interest from students in renting a car rather than buying one as they asked many questions. I was interacting with students and I got a positive response this was determined when students came over to see the presentation. I also handed out flyers for 'Go-car so the students were well informed of alternative transport modes. I displayed some extra 'Go-Car' posters and flyers around the college in appreciation of our kind speaker who gave up his time and gave a worthwhile presentation.

I think the next skill which I will explore will be time-management and Dave discussed this in the Workshop. The focus is on how to balance the following four elements 1) giving 2) working 3) playing 4) learning
In comparision with past generations we have more of an opportunity to integrate these elements. I think everyone was a little stressed due to deadlines, exams and dissertations and the workshop was an eye opener!

The 80:20 model was a good example- controlling time and how you use it. I was thinking where does 80% of my work ethic go? What am I doing when I spend time and what am I achieving with my time? Could I yield more with the effort I put in? The personal development plan can help me reach my goals, adhere to strict deadlines, manage my time efficiently and above all strike a work-life balance which is fundamental to success.  

We met with our LEAD mentors and everyone updated each other on their skills, learning plan, ideas and events they were working on. The exchange of information I find is crucial to the success of the LEAD module as problems and solutions are reached in these meetings. I think their is alot of creativity and transferable skills being developed in the small groups which will feed into the wider LEAD programme. If I was here next year I wouldn't waste anytime and would join up to the Juggling and Snow (SKI) Society ..you know who you are! The meeting concluded with a date finalised for the next meeting on June Monday the 6th at 1pm just before the 10th of June which is the end of the LEAD module pilot programme.

After lunch everyone mingled with other students and presented information on the other person to the LEAD group. I learnt what I can do differently and this was experienced by exchanging information with other students and analysing their difficulties and solutions that they had used in dealing with complex issues.  I explored a new skill which was teamwork building as I had to delegate tasks to other members in the 'Mental Planners'. We had four Speakers the Director Richie O' Donnell on the 'Pipeline' film in Bolton Street on Thursday evening. There was a question and answers session on the 'Shell to Sea campaign'. I organised refreshments for the wine reception and each member had different tasks as we were under time constraints. This followed on with a gathering in Bodkins so everyone could further ask the speakers questions and get to know each other. I had got the invoice that day for Bodkins and the event ran smoothly with some students saying they enjoyed the film and the Q and A session. There will be photographs of this event and they will be uploaded onto the 'Mental Planners' facebook page within the next week.

Finally, we went to the lab to broaden our technology skills which DIT is famous for ! Twitter and facebook was the talk of the day as people were working away and keeping up to speed with their societies and clubs.  We needed this introduction in the lab to show us how to create our Portfolios electronically which are due on June the 10th. We have two options hard-copy or electronic versions and I haven't decided yet on which method to use and I have the option of using both if I so wish. I suppose I need to reflect on the skills I have and select the method which would best suit my skill set and the information I need to display.

Todays workshop I found useful and I feel I know where I am going with developing my skills The day was a chance to analyse and take a step back from my busy 'Green Week' event. I handled tasks and explored many skills during this week. Now I can look at those situations, what the tasks involved, the actions I took and reflect on the result of the actions. It is an important concept to think about the past event and learn from it by reflecting and thinking how I can improve or to do a different action to reap success. Sometimes you want the bigger slice of cake! but this is impossible and a compromise must be reached.

I have gone home with one foot forward and an open view toward learning and reflecting on learning.

April Fools

We had our first group meeting in Bolton Street at two today.

In this pilot LEAD module all the members of the group happened to have the same three skills as follows!

This must follow good mentoring practice!

1) Communication
2) Problem-Solving
3) Planning and Organising

I think we learnt alot more by comparing similiar skills in terms of successes and failures and discussing how we could provide evidence of where and when we learnt these skills. The Learning Agreement was discussed in detail and members of the group presented some problems they had and reflected on how they could improve them for next year.

Over the next week we will continue developing and broadening our skills and most importantly providing evidence through photographs, films, scrapbooks and many other media forms. This will prepare us for the workshop on the 8th of April. At the workshop we will present our activities to the LEAD group in Cathal Brugha Street at 9.30am.

On reflection of the meeting the primary skill refered to was communication. In all three Societies present we reflected on how we could provide evidence for this skill. New avenues were explored showing evidence through films, Animoto (slide show for photos), minutes of meetings and e-mail messages as proof of our 'communication' skills developing.

On reflection, the problem the Planning Society experienced was the decrease in attendance at the Erasmus event this year. In March 2011 this event was organised for half seven and I think it was too late and some Members sent their apologies they could not attend. There was a drop in numbers from the year before by about ten people. I think the time was to late as many classes had finished earlier that day. This information can be 'communicated' to the third year Committee who are taking over the Planning Society next year. This is important feedback and the new Committee should take this advise on board when they are scheduling the Erasmus event next year.

I am looking forward to the 8th of April workshop, the LEAD group will learn more about reflective practices and will work on their writing skills. This will be followed by Presentations on the day which will further enhance 'communication' skills which we all identified and felt needed exploring.
The group exchanged emails and blog information so we can all comment on each others blogs and further practice our communication input within the LEAD programme.

The meeting concluded with many events to plan and alot of hard but exciting work ahead!

ERASMUS hosted by 'Mental Planners'

Some of the Crowd who attended the Students Exchange programme hosted by the Planning Society. This is a worthwhile programme, which gives students an opportunity to study abroad. Thanks to the array of speakers and past Erasmus students who volunteered to present their Erasmus experience! Thanks to the Lecturers and the Planning Committee for the light refreshments. It was a pleasant evening for all.

2010 National Planning Conference, Tullamore Co. Offaly.

 

The Planning Committee presented on behalf of the DIT Planning class, the Local area Plan of Bettystown-Laytown in Co. Meath. We presented it to Meath County Council and also to Minister Ciaran Cuffe at the IPI Conference in Tullamore. The Planning Conference was held for two days and we would like to thank our Lecturer Paul Lawlor for his enthusiasm. An enjoyable two days was had by all the Planning Committee.
I would like to congratulate Aoife Doyle, Rachel Ivers and Jean Ryan who will be representing DIT at this years Planning Conference in Galway. Best of luck!

This May 2010 report is on the DIT Archive website (http://www.dit.ie/).

Minister of State Ciaran Cuffe with DIT Spatial Planning Students (from left), Colin Broderick, Eoin Stapleton, Aoife Doyle and Aine Geraghty.

The 2010 National Planning Conference took place in Tullamore, Co. Offaly on April 15th and 16th last and DIT Students from the School of Spatial Planning (Bolton Street) made a presentation of their recent Local Area Plan Project of Bettystown in County Meath to both Delegates of the Conference and the Minister of State for Planning and Heritage, Ciaran Cuffe.

Aoife Doyle and Aine Geraghty from DIT presenting the Bettystown Local Area Plan Project to Minister of State Ciaran Cuffe.

The Local Area Plan Project of Bettystown was completed in partnership with Meath County Council between September and December 2009. The Project focussed on a number of key themes which were seen as particularly important to the sustainable planning and future development of Bettystown. These key themes, which were identified by DIT Spatial Planning students during their survey and during discussions with Meath County Council, were as follows;

• Sustainable Housing & Settlement
• Transport
• Social Infrastructure & Economic Development
• Heritage and Conservation
• Tourism
• Open Space & Recreation

The Local Area Plan Project is a Third Year Module in the BSc Spatial Planning (DT106) Programme http://www.dit.ie/faculties/built/spatial-planning/environment/bscprogrammes and it is intended to give students the practical experience of preparing a Local Area Plan for a location in Ireland. This module is normally undertaken in conjunction with the forward planning sections of a Local Authority who identify a town or settlement in their county that they would like to see covered and prepare a project brief in conjunction with the academic staff of DIT. The students are then briefed by the Local Authority Planners during the field survey and the preparation of the draft Local Area Plan takes place over a three month period. The final Local Area Plan Project is presented to the Local Authority Planners at the final Crit. Projects undertaken to date as part of this module are as follows;

• Portarlington (2006): Offaly County Council
• Clara (2007): Offaly County Council
• Glendalough & Laragh (2008): Wicklow County Council
• Bettystown (2009): Meath County Council

LEAD Personal Development Plan 27th March 2011

1) LEAD

The Personal Development Plan identifies the following

• The Students key skills
• Goals
• Learning opportunities
• Assessment of success
• Timeline for Completion
• Evidence of learning

Through your extra-curricular and co-curricular activities you must reflect on the key skills and knowledge you acquired and illustrate this by providing evidence either scrap books, posters, documents, reports or photos.

I am involved in the Students Union, Irelands Young Planners Committee and the Planning Society in DIT, Bolton Street. I have selected the following three skills which I could further develop during the LEAD Module.

1) Communication
2) Problem-Solving
3) Planning and Organising

These skills can be further developed and utilised in the Workplace when I graduate in May this year.
My Personal Development Plan is crucial in making me aware of the essential skills I have expressed through the LEAD Module. This can be the portal which I can further pursue and develop my employability skills.  

1) Communication

Membership has to be gathered for the Irish Young Planners Group (IYP) by mid May. I will talk to all the Young Planners from first through to fourth year in DIT to make them aware of this new (IYP) Committee. The purpose is to gather non student email addresses so the Committee can contact Planning Students on the various Irish Planning Institute (IPI) and non-IPI events in the forthcoming year. Last year, it was firmly realised that Graduate Planners were unreachable, 'out of the loop' because non student addresses were not provided. This new Committee, can overcome this problem and I can rectify this issue by verbally informing Planning Students. The next Committe Meeting is scheduled for the 19th of May and the Minutes of the Meeting will determine whether Membership was successful or unsuccessful.

2) Problem-Solving

Unfortunately, this year saw the demise of the Environmnetal Society. However, the Planning Society can be the niche drawing both Planning and Environmental Students together. During this year the Planning Society became much bigger and more involved in joint events for example the Circus Rave and Superbowl Sunday! Diversity is the spice of life! The Planning Society has an open door policy with membership ranging from architects, environmentalists, enginners you name it!

The issue being discussed here is 'Green Week' which was previously ran by the Environmental Society and this year the Planners decided to run the Event which will start on the 4th of April. This involves budgeting, organising speakers, posters, time management, setting up rooms for talks and displaying a film. The Committee discussed the talks we would have, decided on a range of themes which would cover a broad range of student interests across the DIT sites. We ordered T-shirts for 'Green Week', organised extra people to be involved and networked through our 'Mental Planners' Facebook site and face-to-face to ensure a successful turnout.
We are a Competitive Society with high hopes for 'Green Week' which we believe will be bigger and better than last year! Posters have been placed around the College and this is further proof of our efforts, involving all students during 'Green Week'.

3) Planning and Organising

I am naturally an organised person and being Vice-Chairperson of the Planning Society this skill has been further expanded over the last two years. I suppose being a 'Spatial Planner' is also a further incentive to plan efficiently! I always strive to reach deadlines either in individual or group Projects. This is an important quality in a person and in the Planning Society, the committee members have this desirable trait which is why it is achieving such success.
There have been challenges along the way particularly in organising 'Green week' we must ensure all the Speakers are well looked after. Time is of the essence and because I am in final year we must acquire extra help from the new Committee members, the third years.

Write and Record information in a personal Diary and circulate via email to all group members

• Committee Meetings
• Speakers
• Students-extra helpers
• Timetabling

I had to acquire timetables of the third year students to see when they were available and willing to help. I had to decide on which rooms we would use for talks to ensure they were free at designated times. I had to draw up a rooster of Speakers to make sure the event runs as professionally as possible. During the event photographs will be taken of speakers, students and the wider public which can be displayed on our 'Mental Planners' facebook website. Some speakers are confirmed while others will be in contact during the week. Some students have expressed interest in helping us and they will be contacted by the end of this week. I think this 'Green Week' will have good attendance and generate a positive atmosphere in the College.

Don't forget to wear 'GREEN' ....Hope to see you all there in Bolton Street, on the 4th of April!

16th March 2011: Acting Committee of the Irish Planning Institute Young Planners Network

I was delighted to hear I was appointed as a Volunteer onto the Young Planners Network.

This will provide further scope to build on my existing communication skills.

The Committee met today from 6.30-8.30pm to discuss the goals of the Young Planners Network (YPN) which will be pursued over the next six months.

The second meeting is scheduled for the 19th May 2011 and this is the target date set for Membership.

1) Communication skills will be activated through talking to the first, second, third and fourth year Planners in DIT, Bolton Street. The emphasis will be on raising awareness of the Young Planners Network (YPN) to the fortunate students still at College and targeting members, 'who are not in the loop'.

In the many suggestions made by Committee members I will need to address Planning Students on the benefits of the (YPN) which will support Graduate work experience, organise events, educational programmes, liase with National Council and Branches and will involve many interested people through Social networking sites.

The problem identified at the Meeting was Graduate Planners were unreachable and this 'out of the loop' scenario requires a database of Young Planners with their email addressess.

In order to achieve my goal students if they wish can give me their original email addresses so they are contactable after they leave or while they are still in College.

I will know I am successful if I get consent from some of the fourth year Planning Students before they Graduate in May.

I will also raise awareness from first, second and third years to get involved in the (YPN) and emphasise that some of the events will be free!

The number of email addressess consenting to Membership with the (YPN) will prove I am an effective communicator and the task has been successfully completed.

Day 1 Technology Failure

Day 1 Lead Introduction Module 14th March 2011

Hi,

As the Profile indicates I am a final year Undergraduate Student in Spatial Planning and Environmental Management, DIT, Bolton Street. Currently Vice-Chairperson of the Planning Society, DIT, Bolton Street.

It is a novelty to take part in this LEAD Module, well I would say learning experience with such an enthusiastic bunch of people!
The day started well with an Icebreaker Session. Ground Rules were set one of which was Confidentiality so no names will be given to the interesting people I met on the Course! The Module selected a diverse range of people from all backgrounds some with interesting stories boxing for a Charity event, Working with the All Blacks, Adventure Racing, Organic Farmer and a Fashion enthusiast!

Everyone was aloof at the beginning, although as the Talks continued the topic on Employability Skills
What they are? Why they are important? and How might they be developed? triggered awareness of current skills and ones we could develop during the Module. It was about stepping back and evaluating your successes and failures with regards Job Interviews. The aim was to realise what skills and attributes I can bring to my desired Job. Reflect and acknowledge on the skills I have, which I can apply to the jobs I am interested in. This is learning, reflecting and following through on an action which could be done differently to maximise success.

The term Employability is defined as what knowledge, skills and attributes someone gains throughout extra-Curricular activities, Degree, Work Experience, transferable skills and from many other sources. (Hunt Report, 2010). Throughout the Session the one I was thinking of was Motivation and Passion which I have in studying Spatial Planning. If you are interested in something for example a particular subject area you are more likely to succeed, similiarly with the Career path you choose. Therefore, it is important to reflect on your skill set, evidence them, assess how I can use them and what I can do differently. 

Break Time was another chance to mingle and have a much needed Tea or coffee ....

We were divided into Groups In my group there was a mixed bag of Juggling, Ski and Mental Planners Soc.
The group discussed Initiative/Enterprise and an insight into other Societies was useful. People talked about what they had achieved and their desired future goals for their Societies. I learnt the importance of reflection to realise for example a member had problem-solved without him even knowing that he had done so until we talked about overcoming problems. The email system had gone down and he Messaged members instead and took the initiative to set up a database as the number of people in his Society exceeded the number of texts that could be sent on a daily basis.

I shared with the group my experience in the Mental Planners Soc of handing over the Society in relation to the skill of innovation. The personal goal was to involve new people, generate new ideas, organise lunch time meetings to ensure all members have a say in their Planning Society. During the meetings I listened, recorded interests and ideas of events we could pursue. The Learning experience would be through asking the Members for Feedback on their hopes for the Societies future, what they would like to see or any changes they may have. The Society has collaborated moreso this year with other Societies in organising events which has proved to be successful. The Circus Rave was organised in partnership with numerous Societies and due to our effort in PR and 'putting the word out there' we are in talks with the Engineering Society in helping them organise their Engineering Ball Event. Networking during Clubs and Socs training at the start of the year facilitated this get to know atmosphere and this is crucial to any Socs success! The domino-effect organising one event leading onto more events will grow the society further by this coming May.

Anita gave a talk on Reflective thinking and strongly noted to be honest and objective in your thinking. This is a personal journey an assessment of what I can achieve through utilising my planning and organisation skills. This reflective diary assisted with notes and the process of personal development planning can guide my own personal journey which is critical to the Learning Agreement. The main point is not just to look at achievements but to learn from failures, reflect on them and realise a path of change to move forward and be more successful next time.

After the generous lunch vouchers we rambled up to the Labs to attend a tutorial on 'How to set up a Blog Account'? and a youtube video assisted us in this regard. It was a simple procedure as our demonstrator advised us on privacy settings, title of our blog and our commitment of writing 2,000 words a week to be posted on our Blog site. As my close friends and family would know me well for mislaying my mobile recently it was no surprise when my Blog wouldn't set up unlike like everyone elses. I decided I would set it up that evening as the exercise was easy to follow. When this task was complete we marched downstairs to schedule a group meeting with our Mentors. We discussed what we would do for the next meeting which we scheduled for the 1st April so we were all on the same wavelength. The meeting concluded

1) What we will be doing in the future in relation to a Time plan?
2) Reflect on three skills and through evidence draw on where they were experienced?
3) Draw on what you learnt in these experiences the successes and failures?
(Refer to LEAD Handbook pg, 4)

Finally, the Session ended with thanks to the Academic Staff, Speakers and Students that attended the first ever Pilot LEAD Programme in Cathal Brugha Street, DIT.
Questions and Answers summed up the evening and we all made our merry way home to start blogging!

Sincere thanks to all the Speakers and colleagues that attended it was an enjoyable first day on the LEAD Team.